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By Delisa Magagula
Minister of Finance, Neal Rijkenberg, has asserted that Eswatini presents a ‘lovely opportunity’ for businesses, citing his 25 years of experience in the country.
He emphasized the absence of corruption and undue influence, stating, not once did he have to pay a bribe, not once was there pressure to say minister or deal with that stage and hand over shares to somebody, not once were there land issues in the country.
He was speaking at the inaugural Investment Conference under the Eswatini Investment Promotion Authority (EIPA) held in Ezulwini Sharma House.
Rijkenberg underscored the government’s commitment to creating a conducive business environment, particularly through prudent fiscal management.
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“When you’re on top of the budget, the budget speaks to what are you taking seriously in the country,” he stated. He highlighted the government’s decision to prioritize capital expenditure, with a 14.4% increase in the capital budget compared to an 8.8% increase in recurrent expenditure.
The Minister also pointed to the government’s efforts to streamline business operations and reduce tax burdens.
“As a country, we reduced the tax rate, the normal company tax rate, from 27.5% to 25%,” he said, emphasizing the government’s commitment to fostering growth.
He further mentioned the availability of development approval orders with a 10% tax rate and Special Economic Zones (SEZs) offering 0% tax. Rijkenberg stressed the importance of political stability, citing the Tinkhundla system.
“Eswatini is a highly democratic country it’s got a very, very good stabilising political system that really is great for businesses to thrive because you know what you have today and you know what’s going to happen 20 years from now.” he said.
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He concluded by highlighting Eswatini’s sustainable economic path, with a reduced fiscal deficit and low debt-to-GDP ratio.
“We managed to get our government and our fiscal into a sustainable position,” he said, noting the reduction of the fiscal deficit from 7.5% to 2%.
“Businesses have come in knowing that if you invest today, in 20 years’ time, you’re going to be able to get your investments out of the country.” Said the Minister.
